Fixed income took the top spot this week. ETFs tracking bonds pulled in $34.6B net over the past seven days. Equities were close behind at $30.3B. Over three months, the order flips — equities dominate with $553B in net inflows versus $254B for bonds. The gap is narrowing fast.
The US remains the default destination. American equity ETFs drew $20.8B in net inflows this week. China was the strongest international story, adding $2.7B with a flow imbalance of 59. That continues a much larger three-month trend where China attracted $42.6B net — second only to the US at $219.6B.
Taiwan stands out this week for a different reason: its flow imbalance hit 79, meaning buying pressure was heavily one-sided. $1.3B net flowed in. Over three months, Taiwan attracted $16.6B. The appetite for semiconductor-linked exposure is consistent.
South Korea reversed sharply. It was a top-five destination over three months, pulling in $34.4B net. This week it bled $2.3B — the biggest geographic outflow recorded. The flow imbalance dropped to 29.5, pointing to genuine selling pressure. Germany also remained in outflow both 1w and 3m.
Brazil flipped direction. Over three months it lost $919M net. This week it gained $319M with an imbalance of 90.1 — one of the most lopsided buying signals in the data.
Tech is the week's clearest casualty. Information Technology ETFs lost $1.16B net this week despite being the largest sector over three months at $19.8B in cumulative inflows. The flow imbalance fell to 44.7 — below the neutral 50 mark. Sellers edged out buyers.
Financials picked up the slack. The sector gained $853M this week, with an imbalance of 68.6. That is consistent with the three-month picture, where Financials pulled in $3.6B.
Utilities attracted $298M this week with a strong imbalance of 85.5 — the sector's buying pressure was notably one-directional. Energy continued to lose ground in both periods: $112M outflow this week and $3.7B over three months.
Materials reversed sharply. They gained $1.4B over three months, but shed $379M this week. The imbalance dropped to 38.1, suggesting the commodity trade is losing momentum.
Commodities showed strong conviction. The asset class gained $3.2B this week with a flow imbalance of 76.1 — higher than equities or bonds. Over three months, commodities attracted $18.5B, consistent with a macro hedge theme.
On strategy, Growth was the week's standout. Growth ETFs pulled in $5.5B with an imbalance of 91.4. That is a striking acceleration. Over three months, Growth drew $8.6B — but that was spread over 13 weeks. Most of it appears concentrated recently.
Active management continued a multi-month trend. Active ETFs gained $1.9B this week and $141B over three months. The imbalance over three months was 73.8 — one of the highest sustained readings in the data. Price-weighted ETFs shed $765M this week after gaining modestly over three months.
The overall tone is cautiously risk-on. Money is moving into equities, bonds, and commodities simultaneously. That broad buying suggests liquidity deployment rather than a clean risk-on shift — with Tech's stumble and Korea's reversal the most notable cracks in the consensus.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
